Haley OKs S.C. immigration cops

Saying “illegal immigration is not welcome in South Carolina,” Gov. Nikki Haley on Monday signed a tough new crackdown bill that sets up a special $1.3 million law enforcement unit to root out those who are here without papers.

The Palmetto State is the latest to create strict guidelines for illegal immigrants and will require police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop and suspect may be in the country illegally, Reuters reported.

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The law, like new immigration measures recently passed in Georgia, Alabama, Arizona and other states, requires employers to use the federal E-Verify system to check employees’ and job applicants’ citizenship status.

But the biggest difference between South Carolina and other states is the $1.3 million enforcement unit within the state’s public safety department. Reuters reported the unit will have 12 full-time officers with their own uniforms and vehicle decals.

Like it has in other states, the American Civil Liberties Union plans to challenge the South Carolina bill in court. A federal judge on Monday blocked parts of Georgia’s bill from taking effect July 1, The Associated Press reported.

“This is a bill that enforces laws,” she said. “We are a country of laws, and when we give up enforcing laws, we give up everything this country was founded on…Illegal immigration is not welcome in South Carolina. Legal immigration is more than welcome in South Carolina.”

South Carolina’s law is also due to go into effect July 1.

Last week, the South Carolina Hispanic Leadership Council said because it creates the $1.3 million enforcement unit, the immigration bill runs counter to the fiscal responsibility message on which Haley campaigned last year, its president told The State of Columbia, S.C.